Review of A Lull in the Sea
Prepare to dive into an ocean of emotions and a whirlpool of feels with Nagi no Asukara (A Lull in the Sea). This anime is truly a hidden gem, a diamond in the rough in the world of shows out there. I must confess that this show completely bypassed me when it aired back in Fall 2013, and I only recently picked it up during late November 2016, more than three years later. Boy am I glad I found it! I went into the series blindly, and ended it feeling absolutely satisfied, warm all over, and just generally in a state of emptiness when Idon't know what to do after the perfection that was this anime. Looking back, I could only wonder why this series seemed to go terribly underrated and not mentioned a whole lot in the community. But I digress.
While I admit that I probably haven't watched too many anime yet to truly justify my rating, as I will most likely continue to watch more shows into the future, I can safely say that among those that I have already watched, Nagi no Asukara is the only anime I can give my rare, proud 10 to.
Why?
Before I go into my long, deep opinion, let's take a look at the components of the show first and how I feel about each of them:
Premise:
Nagi-Asu promotes itself as a drama, fantasy, and romance according to MAL, and I think it delivers in all of these perfectly, especially the first one. Truthfully, the synopsis didn't really give me a clear idea of what to expect from the show; it was as ambiguous as a road map you could get. I thought it would be a slice-of-life in a manner similar to Kokoro Connect, and while the first half of the series definitely felt like it at times, the second half all but abandoned the general cheerfulness of a SOL.
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Plot and Setting:
Under the sea and in a town beside the sea. We've seen this many times in both anime and other media before, but Nagi-Asu goes beyond and adds racial traits, prejudices and misunderstandings to the people who live underwater and the land-dwellers, almost making it seem like the equivalent of color, wealth, or beliefs in the real world. And boy, does Nagi-Asu deal with the topic of discrimination beautifully . . . Moving on, the plot is nothing too special but the execution was godlike, and safe to say there were a lot of twists along the way, with the most heart-wrenching ones truly unexpected.
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Character and Story Development:
The character development in this anime is a masterpiece, and even then that stills sounds like an understatement. One of the male MC's was the most unlikable piece of shite at the beginning, but he did a full 180 throughout the series, until it came to a point that one of the things that kept me going through the 2nd half's more emotional arc was seeing his progress as a person into something truly unforgettable. And it's not just him, everyone else in the ensemble cast had developments worth watching.
The story also had a very reasonable pacing, with no unreasonable or unwarranted slow-downs or rushes. As I already mentioned, the first half feels a lot like a SOL, but after the first half ended it slowed down a lot, but in exchange we get even more of the character development that I've praised so highly (although the first half definitely had great character developments as well).
The ending. As much as I'm a fan of Nagi-Asu, I can't help but be disappointed with the way the show ended. Yes, everything was resolved and all the ships sailed, but I feel like a lot more could have been done it if just wasn't rushed as hell. All that wonderful buildup for those last underwhelming 5-7 minutes ..
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Animation and Art:
Now, let me just say one thing:
That animation was legit, bro!
If you haven't watched Nagi-Asu and are browsing the internet for recommendations about it, then 9 times out of 10 this is the aspect of the anime that most people loved. PA Works, the studio behind Nagi-Asu (which is an anime original by the way), has always been known to deliver and exceed expectations in the visual department, and this series is no exception. Seriously, just pause whenever you encounter a background or basically any scene with few to no characters on it, and observe every little detail drawn in glorious, movie-level quality. In particular, the various underwater effects are simply spectacular.
The art style is really beautiful as well and definitely works in favor of the show.
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Soundtrack:
Any anime with Kana Hanazawa as a seiyuu is already a winner for me . .
But seriously, the soundtrack is yet another masterpiece element of the show. There are a lot of great tracks, with its fair share of upbeat and happy and sad and emotional. The right tracks play at the right moments, and a lot of times I was just held into a 'wow'.
Here is probably one of the most uplifting tracks I've heard in all of anime: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBpHEnSIIU8
And an accompanying emotional track, which has feels written all over it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bNFA7unbg0
The OP's and ED's do well to accompany the series' soundtrack. Ebb and Flow (OP 2) is still among my favorite anime songs. The ED's also have great usage in the ending of some episodes as well - the one that comes most to mind is Episode 23.
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Production and replay value:
Consistency is the name of the game for Nagi-Asu, as its wonderful animation never falters even late unto the series. There is little to no drop in soundtrack quality and usage as well. Sasuga, P.A. Works
Replay value is at an all-time high here. Rewatch it whenever you've lost hope in humanity but still want to believe there is a chance, whenever you want to feel warm all over .. no. Just rewatch it whenever you have the time to fully commit to it, as this is when Nagi-Asu will reward you the most.
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Summary of Nagi-Asu's elements:
The best: Animation and art, soundtrack, production and replay value, character development
The good: Story development, premise, plot and setting
The bad: the ending
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Personal opinion:
I've already gushed about all the things about this anime that made me love it above, so I'm just gonna keep this short. Nagi no Asukara is an anime you MUST watch before you die. It definitely and safely belongs in a top 50 anime of all-time list, although I would boldly argue it has the repertoire to belong in even a top 20 list.
This anime takes its rightful place among the likes of Toradora and Clannad as some of the best romance and drama anime has to offer. Although I admit, the starting episodes might not really hook you in, as this anime only really starts to get going by around the ninth episode. It definitely has the pacing of a 26-ep show and I'm so glad P.A. works made this rare decision instead of going for their usual 12-13 ep shows. Twice the amount of episodes really helped this show flesh out the world, characters and the story it wanted to tell.
This anime had me not watching anything else for about a week after I finished it - it was that good for me. It made me question important things in life such as family and love. This anime is that kind - that is, if it hits you in all the right places, it is a show capable of changing your very life.
An ocean of emotions is waiting for you in Nagi no Asukara!